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Despite many public statements at the highest level assuring commitment to environmental protection and sustainability, the Jamaican government has failed to operationalize these promises. Deforestation, soil erosion, degradation of coastal ecosystems, over-fishing, poor air quality, poorly managed parks and protected areas, pollution of harbours, rivers, streams and aquifers, unplanned and unregulated settlements in areas most vulnerable to natural disasters, inadequate management of solid and liquid waste, and poor development planning and control are key features of the state of Jamaica’s natural environment. It has long been recognized that the weakness of the environmental regulatory and institutional framework is the primary obstacle to good environmental stewardship.

A country’s ability to mobilize revenue through taxation (i.e. to have an effective tax system) is synonymous with its capacity to achieve sustainable growth and development. Through taxes, the state receives the funding necessary to perform its functions and duties effectively. As such, the first and often the main objective of a tax system is to generate sufficient revenue to finance public sector activities in a non-inflationary way. This report focuses on the relative effectiveness of different tax types–value added taxes, income taxes, and property taxes – to generate revenue in the Jamaican context. It assesses and compares the efficiency of each tax type.

Jamaicans must face some uncomfortable truths about our violent crime problem. One such truth is that if we are to significantly lower the rates of homicide and other violent crimes and weaken the power of criminal networks in the society, we cannot avoid a renewed attempt at a thorough transformation of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF). This transformation should bring the force more in line with democratic policing principles and methods of work and make it more effective as an instrument of crime prevention and control.

Jamaica’s open data programme has advanced further than most of its counterparts in the Caribbean, placing it at the top of most regional rankings. In recent years there have been legislative developments (data protection legislation tabled; open data policy in development), infrastructural developments (portal), as well as capacity building through data training programmes. Despite recent developments, the country has experienced very limited impact from its open data programme thus far. Several issues relating to data quality, the reactive nature of data release within government, issues with the access to information request process, and a lack of focus on answering specific questions with open data, are significant barriers to its re-use and impact in Jamaica. Many of the current challenges stem from the absence of an open data policy which provides guidance, and standardizes data collection, distribution, and quality, across government agencies.

This report assesses Jamaica’s current open data programme, and identifies those shortcomings to be remedied, as well as opportunities where value could be added. The following recommendations are made to improve the effectiveness of the current programme, and to extract significant and measurable value from open data.

A high percep on of corrup on in Jamaica exists, both locally and interna onally. The country consistently performs poorly on global corrup on indices, with other governance indicators ci ng corrup on as a major problem for the country. Polls done domes cally reveal similar views on corrup on in the country with many locals regarding key ins tu ons in the country as being highly corrupt. This report reviewed innova ons used to strengthen integrity in countries around the world, with a view to recommending one such innova on to strengthen Jamaica’s own integrity. Having assessed the corrup on situa on in Jamaica and examined what the exis ng an -corrup on framework allows, it was found that any innova on implemented in the country must address certain contextual criteria. As corrup on was seen to be pervasive across all levels of society, any innova on would have to engage all members of society to e ect real change. Addi onally, during consulta on with several an -corrup on ins tu ons on the island, it was found that a major downfall of the innova ons they currently use is a lack of data collec on which is necessary to assess their e ec veness. Consequently, ini a ves used in Jamaica should allow for clear target-se ng and quan ca on of results. Furthermore, given the resource constraints, and in general, the economic challenges facing the country, innova ons should be cost-e ec ve and sustainable. Notably, Jamaicans have a strong inclina on to technology and innova on and thus, the ini a ve should also be technologically inspired as this may spur on the uptake by the public.

Ascertaining the true cost of providing an undergraduate degree in Jamaica is critical for students, ter ary ins tu ons, and government policy-makers. For prospective and current university students, understanding the real cost of a degree may force them to make more cost-effective choices, thus, reducing the cost barrier to educa on and increasing the likelihood of nishing their degree programme. For policy-makers, this informa on is important in order to make decisions that ultimately enhance access to and choice of a aining a ter ary education. Lastly, ter ary ins tu ons, and by extension the government, would be interested in decreasing this barrier (the real cost) to tertiary education which in turn would increase access, enrolment, and contribute more significantly to economic development.

The re-establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba, and their agenda for normalising relations hold more opportunities than threats for Jamaica. The changes in the U.S.-Cuba relationship strengthen the already positive climate for economic growth and investment in the relatively large and diverse Cuban market, and will support that country’s progressive investment policy reforms and growth in private enterprise. The prospect of further growth in the Cuban economy is an opportunity for revival of the Jamaican economy.

Can the Tivoli Commission of Enquiry deliver policy recommenda ons which are bene cial to Jamaican democracy? Will the government implement these recommenda ons? What kind of policy outcomes should result from the establishment of the Commission? Will the Commission u lize a problem-solving approach by making recommenda ons which respond to both the immediate problem as well as the problema cs of the garrison phenomenon, a major root cause of the May 2010 events? These are important ques ons being asked by various commentators, who have engaged in the public debates about the role of the Tivoli Commission of Enquiry and the current state of Jamaica’s socio-poli cal milieu. The purpose of this brief is to examine some of these salient policy issues.

This report is part of a project undertaken in collaboration with the Embassy of the U.S. in Jamaica, titled "Dialogues Between Democracies". This project, which consisted of a series of events and the present research, examined the benefits and challenges of the bilateral relations between the United States and Jamaica. Focusing on the themes of Security, Health & Prosperity, Democratic Governance and Social Inclusion, "Dialogues Between Democracies" celebrated the achivements of a strong partnership, whilst providing evidence-based recommendations to strengthen this partnership, presented in this report.